Archive for May, 2008

PollStar, and Josh Gracin’s web site, both have him scheduled to be at the Appalachian Fair in Gray, TN, on Tuesday, Aug. 19. But so far, there’s nothing on the Fair’s main page about their entertainment schedule.

Tracy Lawrence does have Monday, Aug. 18, up on his web site for the Appalachian Fair, so I can only assume from these two postings that these are confirmed dates.

Jypsi has posted on their page that they will be at the Appalachian Fair on both Friday, Aug. 22, and Saturday, Aug. 23, but I think that’s a mistake. I’ve been hanging out at the Gray fair for a lot of years now, and can’t remember them ever having the same act in twice in the same year.

I like this group a lot, and those of you who don’t remember their song “I Don’t Love You Like That,” need to go to their web site and listen. And, not just to that song. I’m sure when you hear a few of the others they have on line, you’ll be a fan, too. One of my favorites is “Stray Dogs and Ally Cats.”

Emerson Drive was tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 19, but since that is now the night for Josh, I don’t think it’s going to happen. And, Emerson Drive has nothing on their tour schedule as yet, either. I’ve never seen them in concert before – that would have been nice. Oh well… Maybe another concert, or another year. We can always keep hoping.

And, leaving the Gray Fair for just a moment here – wanted to mention to those of you in the area that Bucky Covington will be at the fair in Wise, VA, next Tuesday night, June 3. And remember, he will be back in our area in September for the Washington County Fair in Abingdon, Va.

Back to Gray – the last one I have to report on there, is Craig Morgan. He was also on the tentative schedule I put up a few weeks back, and at this point – he’s still tentative. Nothing on Craig’s official site about the Appalachian Fair as yet.

If any of you guys hear anything – let me know, so we can pass it on to the other readers.

Tomorrow night, May 31, I’m going to see Joe Diffie at freedom Hall in Johnson City – really looking forward to that one, and be assured that photos will follow. Drop me a line! And take care.

Sometimes, I just want to shake my head and say, “Chris, what are you doing?”.

Chris Cagle, who was already scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 23, 2008, in Tucson, Ariz., on misdemeanor assault charges, was arrested Wednesday, May 28 in Nashville, when he and is girlfriend got into a fight. Both Cagle, and the girlfriend, Jennifer Tant, were intoxicated and an argument turned physical early Wednesday. Corrections officers said both were jailed on misdemeanor domestic assault charges. According to local law, the two had to spend 12 hours in jail (mandatory), before being released on $1,500 bond. You can view the court documents – just click here.

The upcoming court appearance in Arizona is the result of a Dec. 13, 2007, incident, where Chris is accused of punching a man after the man’s girlfriend became upset because the country star declined to autograph something – he had already signed a number of items for her, Tucson police said.

I’ve had the good fortune of seeing Chris perform live on two separate occasions. And I think he put on a fabulous show. Time to get your act together, Chris, and get back to doing what you do best — singing!

I got a very nice e-mail today from Heather, at Universal Music Distribution. She wanted to tell me about the group Carter’s Chord, who will digitally release their self-titled debut album on June 17. I’m more than happy to introduce you to them.

The girls are sisters, Emily, Becky and Joanna. And they are recording for Show Dog Records, the company owned by Toby Keith. And, they will going out on tour with Toby soon! How cool is that.

There is a great video you can watch by clicking here. In addition to hearing a little of their music, you will also get a great introduction of the group, their family, where they were raised, how they got into country music, etc. It’s great video. You can also watch their videos on You Tube! I really like them, and hope you will, too. Let me know what you think.

Here are a few of their tour dates with Toby. I’m closest to Charlotte, I think. They will be there on June 20; Tampa on June 28; Phoenix on July 10; San Diego, July 11; Lake Tahoe, Nev., on July 27; Chicago Aug.1; Pittsburgh Aug. 3; Virginia Beach, Aug. 15; and Philadelphia on Aug. 16. And, while you’re surfing around on the net, check out http://www.carterschord.com/

I think these young ladies have a very bright future ahead of them, and am looking forward to hearing more from them. I hope you guys enjoy the links! I’ll talk to y’all tomorrow.

I hope all of you had a great Memorial Day weekend. I know I did. We went to west Tennessee, and while we were heading through Nashville, we stopped at the Country Music Hall of Fame. This photo was taken in the lobby – which is huge, and includes a restaurant and 5,000 sq. ft. gift shop. Where I just couldn’t resist buying a book called The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Looks like I’ve got a lot of reading to do!

There is a huge Hank Williams Sr. exhibit at the museum right now. I suppose most of what I know about Hank Sr. I learned from old tapes (video and audio), and old black and white photos. I hadn’t realized that he dressed as colorful as (or even more so) than Porter Wagoner. A lot of Hanks clothes were on display, as well as some that Hank Jr. wore when he was on stage with is dad, at a very, very young age. They were so cute. In addition to Hank Sr.’s wardrobe, there were boots, guitars, and even the saddle from one of his horses; and of course, a lot of information about his family. It was really interesting exhibit.

The museum, of course, goes from the earliest days of country music, right up to the present. The picture of Tim McGraw at the left covered a rather large wall toward the end of the museum tour. And that was where you found photos and information about Kenny Chesney, Mark Wills, and some of the other “more recent” country stars. To read everything, listen to all the songs, and watch the videos of past country television shows – you could spend days in the museum. I had a great time!

A short distance away, in front of the Wax Museum near Opryland Hotel, there is a large concrete area where entertainers put their hand prints and footprints in the cement. So with Porter, when we made the journey from the Hall of Fame Museum to the Wax Muxeum – we got to go from suits to boots.

And how interesting is this – Porter’s boots, with their little pointed toes and narrow heels, look like the might have been rather uncomfortable. And here’s George Strait – with his boots, obviously very practical for riding and roping (something we all know George does quite a bit of). I liked the fact that it wasn’t roped off – you could actually put your feet in their boot prints, and get down and see how your hands measured up next to theirs. There is also a great gift shop at the museum. The then, as you probably guessed, gift shops are not in short supply in Nashville.

And, here’s one of my all-time favorites, Johnny Cash. This was the photograph on the wall with all the gold records, and when you opened the photo – it played one Johnny’s songs, and had a little information about him behind the photo. The walls of gold records were on two floors or the museum – some had doors that opened and you could hear music; others just displayed the gold records — all of them were great to see.

That’s all for today. I loved getting to go away for a few days, but it’s nice to be home. If you guys have anything in particular you’d like to know about – let me know. I’ll thumb through my Encyclopedia of Country Music and see what I can find out for you.

I just wanted to let you all know that I will be going away for the Memorial Day holiday. I’m leaving Thursday afternoon and won’t be back until sometime Monday evening.

But while I’m gone, I hope you will go through the archives here at Country’s Chatter – just click on any of the blue dates on the little calendar (February, March, April and May) to check past blog posts. Or click on the category list and find the posts that way.

Don’t forget to use some of the links to go to the web sites of your favorite entertainers!

I’ll see you all when I get home. Drop me a line or two! Your the reason Country’s Chatter is here!

The ACM Awards are over and done with for another year … and I wasn’t at all unhappy with the winners list this year. Carrie Underwood was named Top Female Vocalist. And I thought the tribute she and Brad Paisley did for Eddie Arnold was really well done.

Speaking of Brad Paisley, he was the winner of the Top Male Vocalist award this year. I might have picked Rodney Adkins for that one… except … what in the world was wrong with the microphones, or the speakers, or something at that awards show! Rodney was really off key last night, and he kept playing with is little earpiece as if he couldn’t get any sound of out of it. I don’t know if he couldn’t hear the music, or if he couldn’t hear himself, but it was terrible! And he knew it. He didn’t look like he was enjoying his performance at all.

I think Kellie Pickler was having a problem too, because when she came out to sing, she took her ear piece out almost as soon as she started.

I’ve heard Rodney sing with just two guitars and a drum before; I know the boy can sing. I’d love to know what was going on last night.

Other award winners included Jack Ingram for Top New Male Vocalist; Taylor Swift for Top New Female Vocalist; and Lady Antebellum for Top New Duo or Group. Brooks and Dunn won Top Vocal Duo, and the honors of Top Vocal Group went to Rascal Flatts. And the Entertainer of the Year was won by Kenny Chesney.

I really thought the show was good. They had so many performances scheduled, and a great group of presenters. But I would still like to know what was wrong with the sound system that was creating problems for the singers. Brooks and Dunn didn’t sound good, Rascal Flatts didn’t sound good… and since I’ve seen almost all of these entertainers live before, I know they can sing. But I really felt bad for Rodney. To be up there doing a portion of each of his four No. 1 songs, and to have it come out sounding like it did must have been awful for him. We still love you, Rodney!

Now it’s your turn. Let me know what you thought of the show … the winners… the performances…the night in general. Always love your comments!

With the 43rd Academy of Country Music Awards about to hit television screens all over America, (and no ACM Party to go to tonight) – I thought it was a very good time to put a little new information on this blog. Sorry I’ve been away so long – but this is a really busy time of year for me. I’ll try to do better — honest.

First, I suppose all of you have heard that Shania Twain and her husband, Mutt Lang, have separated after 14 years of marriage. They have one six year old son, and homes in New Zealand and Switzerland.

Rodney Adkins has certainly come a long way since this photo was taken at a local Wal-Mart. Rodney was on tour promoting his second CD when this was taken. And now, 4 No. 1’s later – Rodney is one of this year’s Breakthrough Artists. He’s also nominated for Top Male Vocalist and album of the year for Going Through Helll. For all of his fans in the Northeast Tennessee area, Rodney will be at Fun Fest this year. He will be on stage at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 17, at the Community Concert, presented by AGC Flatglass. Additional sponsors of the concert are 96.9 WXBQ and NewsChannel !!.

To all of you who have been enjoying the web site Buckymaina, I hate to have to tell you that the host of that site has announced that due to employment opportunities, she can no longer continue bringing us all those great photos and news about Bucky. Winnie, who I was fortunate enough to meet through this site, did say she will leave the information up as long as she is allowed. And also wanted everyone to know that you can still keep tabs on Bucky’s career by going to his site. Thanks, Winnie – for all the help and encouragement you’ve given to me with my first attempt at blogging!

Country Weekly magazine has a little piece this month about George Strait’s 1992 movie, Pure Country. Hard to believe it’s been that long! The movie is heading to Broadway – in the form of a play, of course. With songs like “Heartland” and ‘I Cross My Heart”, the original screenwriter Rex McGee, and veteran director Peter Masterson wrote the new musical’s spoken dialogue. I’ve never seen a Broadway play – maybe it’s time I think about it. George is nominated for Entertainer of the Year again tonight at the ACM awards.

I need to run and get a few things done before the awards show starts – grab your popcorn and your soft drink, and get ready! And when it’s over … you know what to do! Post a comment, or drop me a line, and let me know what you think. I just love hearing what you guys have to say about all of this!

It looks like all the financial details of the Carrie Underwood Concert at East Tennessee State University are now out in the open… and it looks as if the college spent more than a little too much to bring that show to their students and guests of the students. The total spent to bring Carrie, her instrumentalists, and the stage to Memorial Stadium on the ETSU campus was $534,000. (How many scholarships could have been awarded with that kind of money!)

When you realize that only 8,000 people attended the concert, the cost of the tickets was $10 for guests and free for ETSU students, they sure didn’t bring a lot of revenue in that night. Students pay $20 in activities fees for both the fall and spring semester.

I know entertainers are working to make money … they have a lot of expenses. But I think ETSU should have taken all of that into consideration when they chose Carrie, instead of a performer who might not have demanded such a large fee for a one night show. An article in the Bristol newspaper said the cost of that show came out to $41,077 per song, or $7,120 per minute for the time she played. Surely she could have dropped that to $5,000 a minute for a college performance. ETSU is the only college she played this year — maybe now we know why. No one else was willing to put out that much money for one show.

I certainly can’t speak for the administration of East Tennessee State University, but I have a feeling they won’t be so quick to drop half a million dollars on another concert any time soon.

How do you feel about it? Is there any performer out there today who should expect $7,000 per minute to put on a show? I know it was a good show — but that wasn’t my question. Take care guys, talk to you all soon!Countrycountry5@hotmail.com

Joe Diffie is now scheduled to take the stage at Freedom Hall on Saturday, May 31, in a benefit concert for the Firefighters Associations of Johnson City, Kingsport and Bristol.

The concert will begin at 8 p.m., and tickets are on sale now for $22 each, by calling (423) 282-1257. I believe that number belongs to the Firefighters Association, and haven’t checked Freedom Hall’s web site yet, but I’m sure you can get them there.

Now, about the “Change of Plans” title on this post. You may remember that back on April 27, 2008, I put up a post telling you about this concert, and at that time, Pam Tillis was scheduled to be the headliner. She had to cancel that performance, and Joe Diffie was selected to take over for her.

Like Pam, Joe is also a member of the Grand Ole Opry, has a string of No. 1 and Top 10 country songs to his credit, and as anyone knows who has ever seen him in concert – puts on a great show! I have so many favorite Joe Diffie songs, it would take an entire page to list them all … But a few are as follows: “If the Devil Danced in Empty Pockets,” “Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox,” “If I Could Only Bring You Back,” and “Tougher Than Nails”.

Daniel Lee Martin, who had been scheduled to open for Pam, will still be the opening act at Joe’s concert. I believe the Firefighter’s Association did well with their choice of a replacement for Pam. I’m looking forward to the May 31 event, which will be my second concert of this Spring/Summer/Fall Country Music Season! Daniel’s CD is still available for $6.99. To order, or just go to the site and listen to some of the songs, click here.

That’s all for now – Have a great day everyone… and if you are in Johnson City on May 31 — I’ll be looking for you at the concert! Write when you have time… it’s always great hearing from you.Countrycountry5@hotmail.com

Dolly Parton is on the cover of the current issue of Country Weekly magazine. In an interview by David Scarlett, titled “I Act on Faith,” Dolly talks openly about the rough times in her life, the “nips and tucks,” her Dad, and her relationship with God. It’s a good interview. Nicely done, David.

And, as always, Country Weekly is packed with information about upcoming concerts, events, awards, CDs, and things we country music fans just have to know about! I love the magazine, I subscribe – and I read it cover to cover.

However, I’m not going to say I always agree with everything they do. Do you guys remember when Garth Brooks was going to retire, and the magazine did something about “who can replace him?” Then at one point, they asked “Who would be the next Tim McGraw?” NOW, they have this 3 page article called “Kings in Waiting” – asking who could be the next George Strait. Some 25,000 fans voted. And, I am glad to see people like Josh Turner,Bucky Covington, and Joe Nickles were among those the voters selected.

Here’s where I have a question … Why does anyone have to “fill his shoes”? George Strait is George Strait;Bucky Covington is Bucky Covington; and Josh Turner is Josh Turner. Aren’t we just willing to love these guys for who they are? They’re all extremely talented, with promising careers of their own. So, George had his 52 No. 1 records — let’s let Bucky, Josh Turner, and the others mentioned in the article, do their thing! Be themselves! Put out one hit after the next, come to our town so we can see them in concert, and not have to be compared to anyone else. That’s my vote! Let me know what you guys think.

Tracy Lawrence, one of the country stars tentatively scheduled for the Appalachian Fair in Gray, TN, this year, will be part of the BamaJam. This is a three day event, with three stages. Entertainers scheduled to take part at the June 5-7 musical event are Trace Adkins, Hank Williams Jr., Ricky Skaggs, Jason Michael Carroll, Old Crow Medicine Show, Randy Owen, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, and many more! What a diverse group of entertainers. The event is held just north of Enterprise, Ala. Sounds like a very fun place to be.

And last, Eddy Arnold, who would have celebrated his 90th birthday on Thursday, May 15, died today, May 8, 2008, in a Nashville health care facility. Eddy’s wife of 66 years, Sally, died just two months ago.

Arnold was a native of Henderson, Tenn., and was inducted into the Coutnry Music Hall of Fame in 1966. He was definitely a part of country music history.

That’s it for tonight. I’ll talk to you all soon. Keep writing! Your comments and e-mails are important to me. And, I’ll get you answered as quickly as I can. Remember, too, that if you have news – I’m all ears. Till tomorrow —